my paste special function won't let me copy formulas
 

I am using Excel 2007 and I can't seem to copy and paste formulas from one
workbook to another. Instead I get a dialogue box asking me if I want to use
paste or paste link and to chose from a list of formats. Does anyone know if
there is something that I can change in Excel to fix this problem?

Answer: my paste special function won't let me copy formulas
 

Yes, there is a solution to your problem. It sounds like your Excel settings are set to paste values only instead of formulas. Here's how to change it:

1. Select the cell(s) with the formula(s) you want to copy.
2. Right-click and select "Copy" or use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + C".
3. Go to the destination workbook and select the cell(s) where you want to paste the formula(s).
4. Right-click and select "Paste Special" or use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Alt + V".
5. In the "Paste Special" dialog box, make sure the "Formulas" option is selected.
6. Click "OK" to paste the formula(s) into the selected cell(s).

If you want to make this the default setting for all future paste special operations, follow these steps:

1. Click on the "Office" button in the top left corner of the Excel window.
2. Click on "Excel Options" at the bottom of the menu.
3. Click on "Advanced" in the left-hand menu.
4. Scroll down to the "Cut, copy, and paste" section.
5. Make sure the "Show Paste Options buttons" and "Cut, copy, and sort inserted objects with their parent cells" options are checked.
6. Under "Pasting within the same workbook", select "Formulas" as the default option.
7. Under "Pasting between workbooks", select "Keep Source Formatting" as the default option.
8. Click "OK" to save your changes.

Now, whenever you use the paste special function, it will default to pasting formulas instead of values.

my paste special function won't let me copy formulas
 

It sounds like you have the workbooks open in separate instances of excel.

Close one of the workbooks (and its instance of excel) and then back to the
first workbook/excel.

Hit ctrl-o and open your second workbook and try the copy|paste.

squintana wrote:

I am using Excel 2007 and I can't seem to copy and paste formulas from one
workbook to another. Instead I get a dialogue box asking me if I want to use
paste or paste link and to chose from a list of formats. Does anyone know if
there is something that I can change in Excel to fix this problem?

--

Dave Peterson

my paste special function won't let me copy formulas
 

"squintana" wrote:
I am using Excel 2007 and I can't seem to copy and paste formulas from one
workbook to another. Instead I get a dialogue box asking me if I want to
use
paste or paste link and to chose from a list of formats. Does anyone know
if
there is something that I can change in Excel to fix this problem?

Are both workbooks open in the same instance of Excel?

I find it difficult to know when that it is actually the case. To be sure,
I use File Open to open the second workbook instead of clicking on the
file icon.

my paste special function won't let me copy formulas
 

Oops.... I didn't see Dave's posting with the same information nearly 3(!)
hrs ago. Mea culpa!


----- original message -----

"Joe User" <joeu2004 wrote in message
...
"squintana" wrote:
I am using Excel 2007 and I can't seem to copy and paste formulas from one
workbook to another. Instead I get a dialogue box asking me if I want to
use
paste or paste link and to chose from a list of formats. Does anyone
know if
there is something that I can change in Excel to fix this problem?

Are both workbooks open in the same instance of Excel?

I find it difficult to know when that it is actually the case. To be
sure, I use File Open to open the second workbook instead of clicking on
the file icon.